Chinatrust breaks ground on NT$15bn construction project

It will be the city＊s biggest ever single corporate project and is scheduled for completion in 2012 at a minimal cost of NT$15 billion (US$449.4 million).

The new headquarters sit on a 9,000 ping (29,752m昆) plot of land, 4,800 ping of which will be open public space, Chinatrust chairman Jeffrey Koo (迖眵撂) told a ground-breaking ceremony.

THREE TOWERS

Once completed, 6,000 employees will work in two of the project＊s office buildings, a 30-story tower and a 20-story tower, he said, adding that the city＊s Nangang mass rapid transit (MRT) line will have a station next to the building. The remaining 14-story building will be leased and there will be a business hotel from the fifth floor to the top, while a shopping mall will cover the first four floors, the bank＊s press statement said yesterday.

＆GREEN SPACE＊

To make the lives of the district＊s residents better, the bank will also provide financial support for a 3,641-ping park nearby as well as opening the corporate headquarters＊ own ※green space§ to the public, Koo said.

Koo said that he hoped the new headquarters would mark a milestone for the financial service provider＊s future development by enhancing its operational efficiency and by cutting electricity costs by millions of NT dollars as a solar energy system will be installed.